We're sure you'll agree with the following statement after reading this editorial. That ain't right, and it couldn't be more wrong.

Every week, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office sends out a press release about recent scams and/or what crime trends to watch for in the state.

Most of the time, we make note and maybe put something in the paper so our readers won't be taken advantage of by the scrupulous members of our society.

This week's release made our blood boil with anger.

It alerted military families of a scam aimed at conartists acquiring access to soldiers' personal information in order to commit identity theft, according to the release. Identity theft is a serious error of our culture. Conartists will only continue their ill-willed efforts to steal people's identities. They will get smarter and find new ways. This is something we have to accept and understand how to protect ourselves.

The criminal element relies on using emotions to turn normal people into their prey. This scam is a prime example.

According to the release, the Public Protection Department of the Attorney General's Office has recently received numerous complaints from military spouses who have been contacted by callers claiming to be officials with the American National Red Cross. Here's where it gets down and dirty.

The callers state the soldier has been injured in Iraq and needs "life-saving medical treatment, which can only be administered after the completion of some necessary paperwork."

At that point, these spouses' hearts must go to their throats as they become overwhelmed with the nightmare they never wanted to face.

Then, the caller asks for Social Security number and date of birth.

This is as low as it gets for our military families. They live day to day under a cloud of worry as it is. And then, some criminal decides to use their situation against them. Our service men and women deserve much better.

Here's a few things to remember for military families or for you to share with friends who might fall victim to this unpatriotic scam:

• Red Cross representatives do not ordinarily contact military families directly. They almost always go through military channels.

• Personal information should never be given to an unsolicited phone call.

• Conartists in this scam do not identify the soldier by name when delivering the bad news to the spouse.

If you receive what you believe to be one of these calls, the attorney general urges you to capture any available caller ID information and contact local authorities immediately.

We can't change the fact some people will do anything to steal our identities. But we can be informed to protect ourselves, friends and family from losing who we are.